Chapter 10

Georgiana’s Sitting Room

Netherfield

4 th December, 1811

Noon

Saffron curtains were tightly closed against the blustery chill outside, the cold kept at bay by a generous fire in the gilded, intricately carved fireplace. The furnishings drawn up close to the hearth were not precisely of the latest style, but they were a bright, cheerful yellow and eminently comfortable; the upholstery was soft and plush and not too worn, the cushions well-fluffed and clean and embroidered with daffodils to match the theme of the room. Two figures sat on the settee closest to the fire.

“You are quite certain you will be well?” Darcy asked anxiously of his sister. She was shy, he knew, and he was uncomfortable about leaving her behind to the tender mercies of Bingley’s sisters. On the other hand, Georgiana was currently settled in her rooms on the first floor, and Miss Bingley was tied to the main floor due to her injured leg, so Georgiana would be safe enough from that lady’s complaining, and Mrs. Hurst spent most of her time entertaining her sister.

“Truly, Brother,” Georgiana replied confidently. “Indeed, I am entirely happy to rest, and I have Mrs. Annesley for company. Do go to Longbourn with Mr. Bingley, I beg you.”

“I love you, my dear,” Darcy said, pressing a kiss on her head, and then hurried out of the door and down the stairs, where Bingley was waiting impatiently in the vestibule with Mrs. Hurst at his side.

“You just returned from London,” the lady said fretfully. “There is surely no reason for both of you to go to Longbourn now.”

“Indeed there is,” Bingley said jovially. “I have been counting the hours to see Jane again.”

Mrs. Hurst turned pleading eyes on Darcy and said, “If you do not wish to go out into the cold again, I am certain my sister would be pleased to entertain you and Miss Darcy.”

Darcy suppressed a snort at this undeniable attempt to use him to entertain the cantankerous Miss Bingley, and he said, “I am eager to accompany your brother to Longbourn, as he has some business with Mr. Bennet and I expect to be able to give useful advice.”

“What kind of business?”

“Marriage settlements, for one,” her brother said, “and estate affairs for another; we are, of course, sharing a border with Longbourn.”

“Will you be back by dinner?”

“I will be back,” Darcy assured, having no intention of leaving Georgiana alone with Bingley’s sisters at dinner.

“Good,” Louisa said with obvious relief.

/

Jane’s Bedchamber

Longbourn

Jane’s room felt very small and crowded and busy and cheerful, as Elizabeth whisked around packing trunks, Jane sat decorously in a chair near the window, hemming a handkerchief with the initials CB in red thread in one corner, and Mary leaned over the desk with long lists beside her. Conversation flew light and quick – “I am putting this here, Jane,” “Do you think we should put blankets in all the boxes or only give them to the families that need them most?” “Oh, you can leave that out, Lizzie, I believe I will give that to Kitty.” “Do we have enough blankets for everyone, Mary?”

Mary leaned over to peer at one of her lists – all the supplies they had to pack the boxes – then checked another piece of paper, detailing the tenant families and their needs. “We are short by five. It is possible that we could make them in time, I do not know.”

“Perhaps there is someone who does not need a new rug?” Elizabeth asked practically, carefully folding Jane’s summer gowns into the trunk.

The door swung open suddenly, and a maid entered. “Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, your father asked that you attend him in the library.”

The girls exchanged puzzled glances and hastily set aside their work, brushed out their skirts, and Elizabeth said, “Mary, please set those lists aside for now. I am certain your hand is cramping dreadfully.”

Mary shook her head. “I am almost finished and want to complete this task. Go on down, all of you, and I will join you when I am done.”

“Thank you for all your assistance in this matter,” Jane said genuinely, and Mary smiled gratefully and said, “Oh, I quite enjoy it. It is a pleasure to assist the tenants and servants, is it not?”

“It is,” Elizabeth agreed and walked out of the room with Jane at her heels. By mutual consent, they proceeded to the stairway closest to the library, in the hopes of avoiding Mrs. Bennet, who might well attempt to drag Jane off to discuss the wedding breakfast.

They were successful in evading everyone, save one of the younger manservants, and stepped into the library, only to stop short in surprise at the sight of her father’s guests.

“Charles!” Jane cried out, rushing past her sister to grasp her fiancé’s hands in her own. “Oh, how wonderful to see you!”

Elizabeth, watching the reunion with pleasure, found her gaze shifting with some curiosity to Mr. Darcy. She was not surprised to see him wearing a stiff expression; she had no doubt that the man disapproved of her sister’s engagement to his friend, but if he thought he could interfere with what was obviously a love match, he would find himself gravely mistaken!

“If you are quite done greeting one another,” Mr. Bennet said drily, which provoked laughing blushes from the lovebirds, who took their places on a small couch farthest from the fire, hand in hand. Given the joy on their faces, Elizabeth thought neither Jane nor Charles would be unduly chilled. Elizabeth herself took a seat near her father, while Darcy sat in a comfortable chair near the fire.

“My dears,” Mr. Bennet said, drawing Elizabeth’s attention, “Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley wish to speak of a matter of some importance, and they asked that both of you be present. Mr. Bingley?”

Charles Bingley was now looking grave, and he said, “I think it would best if Darcy explained the situation.”

Now Elizabeth was frowning in concern. It was usual for Mr. Darcy to look preternaturally serious, but Bingley?

“Thank you,” Darcy said and cleared his throat uncomfortably. “It has come to my attention that an old acquaintance of mine, Mr. George Wickham, has been spreading rumors about my relationship with him, and in particular defaming me regarding a disputed church living.”

Elizabeth was aware that her mouth had dropped open, and she shut it with a snap. She could hardly believe that Mr. Darcy, master of Pemberley, would attempt to justify his cruel treatment of Lieutenant Wickham, but it seemed that was exactly what was happening!

“We have heard that rumor,” Jane said, her lovely face twisted with unease. “It grieves my heart that two young men, who grew up together, would be at such odds, though of course we do not know the details of what truly came to pass.”

“Quite,” Darcy said, and for a brief moment, he glanced at Elizabeth before turning his attention to a satchel at his side. He rummaged through it briefly, pulled out a document, and walked over to hand it to Mr. Bennet. “Would you do me the honor of reading this, sir?”

Bennet cast a thoughtful look on Darcy and then obediently lowered his gaze to the paper and began reading. Elizabeth was too far away to read the words, so she watched her father instead and was puzzled to see the gathering frown on her father’s face.

“So you paid Mr. Wickham three thousand pounds to give up all rights to the living,” Bennet finally remarked to Darcy.

“What?” Elizabeth cried out incredulously. It could not be!

“See for yourself, Lizzy,” her father said and handed the document over. Elizabeth looked at it with disbelief, which rapidly transformed into dismay. The papers, with a letterhead from a solicitor’s office in London, clearly indicated that George Wickham was recompensed three thousand pounds in exchange for giving up the living in Derbyshire, and it had been signed both by Darcy and Wickham.

When she raised her head from the paper, it was to discover tears in her eyes. Wickham had said that Darcy had cruelly refused the living based on jealousy and pride, when in fact he had been compensated a vast sum to relinquish the living. And she had believed Wickham without reservation. What a fool she had been!

To her relief, no one was looking at her; indeed, Darcy seemed intent on avoiding her gaze.

“I am deeply troubled that Mr. Wickham has been slandering you so unfairly,” Jane said in a distressed tone.

“I confess that I was not troubled enough,” Darcy said regretfully. “Wickham and I have had a tumultuous relationship for some years, and I grew very tired of cleaning up his messes, to the point that when I realized that he was in Meryton, I was disinclined to warn anyone of his predilections. That was poorly done of me.”

“What kind of messes?” a voice asked, and Elizabeth was startled to realize it was her own.

Darcy glanced briefly at her and then back at the fire. “He leaves debts wherever he goes, as he spent all of the three thousand for the living as well as one thousand pounds from my father’s will in less than two years. I have paid many of his debts and hold the receipts for them. Furthermore…”

He trailed off and glanced at Bingley, who said, “Darcy tells me that Wickham has ruined many a maiden back in Derbyshire and that the Pemberley estate is supporting several of his bastard children.”

Elizabeth felt a strong inclination to vomit. She had favored Wickham, she had believed in him, she had venerated him, she had, in fact, wondered if she was in love with the man, and if what Darcy was saying was true, George Wickham was a consummate rogue.

“You must not blame yourselves for believing Wickham’s words,” Darcy said kindly, and Elizabeth, to her amazement, discovered that he was now looking at her with obvious sympathy. “He has always been incredibly charming and well spoken; that, and he was educated at Darcy expense and is able to ape the manners of a gentleman better than I can. My own father could never believe in his godson’s dissolute nature. Furthermore, I behaved poorly when I first arrived here in Hertfordshire. It is no surprise that the fine people of Meryton and the environs took Wickham’s side.”

“I should have known better,” Elizabeth said as her eyes dropped to her hands, which were shaking in her distress. “He should never have told me such intimate details about your relationship on our first meeting, but I was blind to it all.”

“You have every reason to dislike me, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy said gently. “I recently learned that you overheard my rude and idiotic words at the assembly when I refused to dance with you. I apologize profoundly.”

“Thank you, sir,” Elizabeth said, and ran her hands down her face. “And I … do apologize for my championing of Mr. Wickham.”

“You are entirely forgiven, and I hope you will forgive my own extremely rude remarks.”

“Of course,” she replied.

Darcy swallowed and turned his gaze on Mr. Bennet. Miss Elizabeth looked so very uncomfortable, and he felt a throb of guilt again at his own stupidity in not explaining the true situation earlier.

“Darcy and I are of the view that the local shopkeepers and tenant families need to be warned about Wickham,” Bingley said. “Mr. Bennet, you and I are now overseeing the two largest estates in the locale, and you will soon be my father by marriage; thus, I thought it best to consult you before we begin carrying out our plan.”

“Which is?” Bennet inquired.

“I intend to force Wickham to take a position on a naval ship,” Darcy said. “He ought not to be on English soil, given that he is, not to put too fine a point on it, a scoundrel. On a ship, under the authority of a firm, fair captain, he cannot get into substantial trouble.”

Elizabeth stared at Darcy in confusion. He was, she knew, an intelligent man, so was it not obvious that Wickham would never accept such a thing?

“It seems most unlikely that the man will accept such a position,” Bennet said. “He is enjoying a pleasant life here in Meryton as a well-regarded member of the militia. Are you intending to abduct him?”

“I might, if it becomes necessary,” Darcy replied, his jaw set firmly, “but it will not. If he refuses my offer, I will present the receipts I hold and have him arrested for indebtedness. He will never be able to pay off those debts; therefore, his choice is either Marshalsea or the navy, and I do not particularly care which option he chooses.”

Jane cried out softly, and Bingley asked, “What is it, my dear?”

“Oh!” she said, blushing at the attention of everyone in the room, “I merely wondered – is there any chance Mr. Wickham is sorry for what he has done and is anxious to re-establish his character? If so, is it fair to treat him so harshly?”

Darcy was both surprised and relieved when Elizabeth spoke up immediately. “He is not repentant in the least; if he was, he would not have slandered Mr. Darcy so methodically. You know he has been lying about this matter of the living to anyone who will listen to him! No, Jane, Charles and Mr. Darcy have the right of it; Wickham is a danger to the good people of Meryton and especially to the daughters of the shopkeepers and tenants.”

“It is true, my darling,” Bingley continued. “Wickham’s life will indeed be a hard one going forward, but he has never cared a whit about ruining the lives of others.”

“You are correct, of course,” Jane said sadly.

“Is there anything you wish me to do, Mr. Darcy?” Bennet asked.

“I will deal with Wickham personally, but if anyone locally speaks of the matter, I hope that you will tell them of the documentation concerning the disputed living.”

Bennet relaxed and smiled. “I will indeed.”